Yu-Gi-Oh DL
by TeeJeh
Summary: A pair of new students are on their way to Duel Academy, but not all is well on academy island. With dangerous spirits and plots to raise an ancient evil, these two have a lot more to worry about than schoolwork. Set roughly ten years after GX. Contains a lot of OC, and an odd pairing due to my co-writer. Rated for depictions of holographic violence and a 'beach' chapter later on.
1. The Entrance Exams

_**The Entrance Exams Part 1 (TJ)**_

_**Hey readers! Take note that this story is collaboratively written, different sections being written by a different person. Two people actually. Just me and a friend. Also, in the canon of this story, Synchro monsters have been recently released. So don't question why they exist in Gxverse. You'll also probably notice Zexal monsters or cards, some that normally make reference to XYZ monsters. Try to ignore that. One more note, yeah, his last name is Avian. No it has nothing to do with the E-hero card. Though it does have a meaning. One more thing, if these seem like self insert characters to you, they practically are. **__**YuGiOh, Yugioh GX, and all of their characters who appear in this story are owned by their respective creators. **__**Lastly, enjoy the story. Leave a review if you want, all that. **_

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Duel monsters. The most popular card game on earth, loved by millions around the world. Created by Maximillion Pegasus , it has become such a popular game that many disputes throughout the world are settled by playing this game. In the course of it's existence there have been many legends to rise to through the duelist ranks. Duelists who: Through resources, skill or just dumb luck have become better than the other average duelist. Seto Kaiba and Yugi Muto, just to name a couple. Also throughout it's existence there have been some cards that are different than the average ones. Ones of great and terrible power. More than just playing cards, these were special, embodied with the powers of the ancient Egyptian beasts they were based on. But today was a big day for a different reason. It was once again time for the duel academy to accept new students.

Times have changed, so many more parents are sending their children off to duel academy that the entrance exams have become harder, some times even those who pass of their exam can end up being left out. The academy is getting over-booked, and they needed to thin out the numbers. Today, a young man by the name of T.J. Avian was stepping up to the plate. Standing just outside of the exam building, he was confident. He was the best duelist in his own school. He stood a little over five feet tall, with curly short hair. His brown eyes glinted with the fire of a man with a mission. He was going to get into duel academy today, and nothing was going to stand in his way.

"Hey! T.J.!" Somewhere not far behind him, a voice called out. Across the road stood an old friend of his from school, waving a card in the air. In most people's opinions, second to him in dueling skill. T.J. knew better. She was just as good as him, if not better. The only difference, other than the obvious, was that he was going to duel academy, while she wasn't. After scanning the road for cars, she ran across the road.

"Oh hey Natelie. Here to wish me luck?" T.J. asked, turning back lightly toward her, mostly only turning his head rather than his body.

"Close enough Avian, we pulled some money together and got you a new card for good luck." She held the card out to him. Looking the card over, he wasn't sure how it would fit into his deck. It was an Ice Master. Though it did fit with his recent addition of spellcaster monsters, and it was a smidge more powerful than his Cyber Dinosaur in terms of defense, there wasn't much use for it with his effect. But he'd feel bad if he turned down a gift from his friends. He opened a small container on his belt, slipping the card in with the rest of his deck.

"Tell the guys I said thanks, and tell them to tell you I said thanks!" T.J. turned back to the exam building. He was sure that he was set. With a single look back at Natelie, who re-assured him with a nod, he walked through the open doors of the building. The place was big, sure the building itself was big, but this was incredible. It was almost like the walls we paper thin with that much room. T.J.'s eyes darted up and down the sands outside of the duel booths. They were lined with other young duelists who were waiting for their turns, and enjoying the show down below. One of the many changes from the old days of entering was how you were called for your exam. In front of T.J. was a desk, two people standing there arguing over something, a man and a woman. The man slammed a dueldisk down to the desk before storming off past T.J., his anger apparent in the shake of the floor that his stomping caused. Looking back to the desk, T.J. began to walk forward.

"What was all that about?" T.J. asked, looking back at the door. The woman just sighed, closing a book full of cards to look at him..

"Are you signing up?" She asked. T.J. nodded, prompting the woman to look through a large binder, many names listed on it.

"What's your name?" She continued.

"T.J. Avian." The woman paused for a moment, looking at him as if trying to work out if she'd heard him right. After receiving a weird look from T.J., she began flipping through the pages, looking for his name on the list. Stopping on the Ts, she began to run her finger over the page, it wasn't long before she pointed out a name, his.

"Alright you're good, that guy who just stormed off was the only open proctor. His kid flunked the exam and he quit." T.J. was sure how to feel about that.

"Does it mean I'll have to wait?" T.J. asked, impatiently kicking at the floor. The woman looked at the dueldisk on the table for a few seconds. An eerie little smile crossing her face. She bent down, grabbing a deck box that was on a shelf under the desk, taking the cards within out and sliding them into the dueldisk. She turned around, looking to a man sitting at a lower corner of the stands.

"Hey Optryx, you take over for me, I've got an exam to give." The man looked over, he looked bit frustrated but began to descend the staircase from the sands. T.J.'s gaze changed from the man to the woman again, he was just a little concerned by the implications.

"Wait, I'm going to duel you?" He asked. He knew that it was usually teachers who sit at the sign-up desks, and they didn't become teachers just by applying for it.

"Is that a problem?" T.J. felt intimidated, and... Challenged. He was not about to let his chance at duel academy slip through his fingers. But he wasn't going to wait and he was definitely not going to turn down a challenge. Anyone or anything standing in his way was going to be delt with. He was feeling very bold, perhaps a bit too bold. If he was going to take on a teacher, he was going to take them on in a big way.

"... Yeah. I'll duel you. I'll beat you with only one attack! How about that?!" As the words escaped his mouth he instantly regretted it. He knew he had just overstepped a boundary that he would not have stepped over on any other day. He really, really wished he hadn't said that.

"Heh. Sure kid, sure. Follow me." Now he felt like he was going to get stomped. He was going to walk home a loser because he got too cocky to wait for his duel. The teacher was already walking toward an open spot in the walls the surrounded all of the exams. T.J. looked over at the stands, knowing that this was not only going to be a loss, but it was going to be humiliating with all of these people who were watching. Walking past the doorway, T.J. turned right and picked up his exam dueldisk from the table next to him, putting his deck into the slot, and approaching the slightly raised platform in the middle of the booth. It was like he was entering an arena, an arena containing a lion. This was going to be short, he know that. But it sure wasn't going to stop him from trying.

"Are you ready to start your exam?" The woman asked, turning around to face him. T.J. stepped up to the platform, holding his dueldisk across his chest.

"Yes Ma'am." He stated, nodding in agreement. The dueldisks lit up, the lifepoints bar displaying the number 8000. This was another change that the creator of Duel monsters, Pegasus, had made to the rules in recent times. Because of his recently released "Synchro" monsters, duels were getting too fast-paced and mostly only lasted four or five or so turns at the most. He thought the duels were no fun anymore, so he thought doubling the life point total might make things more interesting. The dueldisks dispensed five card each at the top of the deck, a sixth extending from the teacher's dueldisk.

"Alright then, I'll go first." She drew it and added it to the rest of her cards.

"I'll summon The Agent of Creation, Venus. " A white silhouette materialized onto the field, a humanoid figure with a pair of wings, being circled by thee floating orbs. A wave of color brushed over it, revealing the full appearance of the monster. This was the first hologram that T.J. had seen in person, and he thought it was the most awesome thing he had ever seen.

"I'll also set one card face down. Now let's see what you've got, I end my turn." A hologram of the back of a Duel monster's card appeared not far behind her monster. The monster only had 1600 attack, surely T.J. could pull a monster with higher attack than that. His dueldisk extended a card at the top, signifying the start of his turn. He pulled it, and looked at his hand. An Axe of despair, Dark Bribe, Giant Germ, United We Stand and Magic Cylinder were the first cards, his new one being a Mystical Space Typhoon. It could be a lot better, but he wasn't entirely complaining. T.J. could have a monster with 2800 attack points if he wanted, but then how would he hold up to his boast of winning in one attack?

"I'll summon Giant Germ in attack mode, then set two cards face down. I end my turn." A giant pulsing blob covered in spikes formed on the field, followed by two face down duel monsters cards behind it. As the teacher drew her card, she made one comment.

"Odd choice, since I have more attack points. Still, I'll tribute Venus to summon The Agent of Judgment, Saturn". Her previous monster came apart into large white pixels, a new monster taking it's place. This one was not too different, another angel, this one having purple skin and wings, and a slightly fancier outfit.

"Saturn, attack his Giant Germ!" The angel held out it's hand, a wave a bright blinding light erupting from it and heading directly toward the Germ. This move would however, prove a very bad choice on her part.

"I activate a trap! Magic Cylinder, it takes your attack, and flips it back at you as direct damage!" A large red tube appeared before the wave of light, taking all of the attack in. The cylinder then flipped over, returning the wave at the teacher. As it struck her, the lifepoint counter on her dueldisk counted down to 5600. It was still painful, hard light is a very, very hot substance, but she got over it, laughing in fact.

"Ha! Good, baiting your opponent into attacking. That's smart. But that won't always work. Remember that. I end my turn." T.J. drew another card and added to his hand, a new card he had gotten just a week ago. Junk Synchron, and it gave him an idea.

"I'll change my Giant Germ to defense mode, and that will end my turn." The Germ seemed to slightly compact itself and became less gelatinous. The woman drew another card, but disregarded it, she had an attack to carry out.

"Let's not waste any time then, I'll set one card face down on the field, and then I'll attack your Germ again!" The angel fired another wave, this time it hit it's mark true, but in the place of the normal hologram explosion, the Giant Germ expanded before exploding, sending bits of debris in all directions, most of which hit the teacher, knocking her down to the floor.

"The Germ always makes an explosive exit, you take five hundred points of damage." The lifepoint counter on her dueldisk counted down once again, this time reaching 5100. Shortly after, T.J.'s dueldisk dispensed another two cards, a pair of Giant Germs.

"Of course, whenever you get rid of one germ, two more take it's place." The two Germs took the others place quickly, to the annoyance of the teacher.

"Hmf... I end my turn." The teacher stated, a lot of frustration clear in her voice. She did not want to deal with two more of those things. But that wasn't going to matter next turn, when she was going to summon her strongest monster. T.J. drew another card, but it didn't matter, he was already set. He was about to home up to his boast of beating her with one attack.

"Alright, time for me to keep my word. I summon Junk Sychron!" A small humanoid covered in metal parts and orange armor appeared on the field, along with T.J.'s previously destroyed Giant Germ.

"And because of his effect, I can bring back my old Germ. But they won't be staying long." T.J. smiled. This was going to be good. The Junk Synchron grabbed a small ripcord on it's back, revving up a small engine that was attached to it's back before raising above the Giant Germ, a huge wall of white raising from the ground behind them and reaching as high as the ceiling of the building. A series of green orbs dotted the surface of the wall, all in the direction of T.J.'s monsters.

"Because I'm about to Synchro summon my favorite monster, the Junk Warrior!" The Junk Synchron lowered in front of the Germ, before both sunk into the while of white, this was certainly getting a lot of attention from the people in the stands. The wall shattered into hundreds of small shards, and T.J.'s other two monsters were gone, replaced by a tall humanoid warrior who was covered blue armor, it donned bladed feet and a long scarf dangling behind it. As it revealed itself, it punched the air in front of it, seemingly for nothing more than to show off.

"So what? It still only has twenty-three hundred attack points, your Warrior is still weaker than my Saturn." A valid point made by the teacher, the Agent of Judgment had 2400 attack points, 100 more than the Junk Warrior.

"Yeah, but because of his effect, he gains attack equal to the combined points of all level two or lower monsters on my side of the field!" Orbs of energy began to flow out of the germs and into the blue warrior, raising it's attack points to...

"But that's..." The teacher only knew so much about the newly released synchro monsters, she taught duel mechanics, she knew how they were summoned, but not what their effects were.

"Forty-three hundred! But I'm not done yet, I equip him with Axe of Despair, giving him an extra thousand attack points! " As T.J. slid the spell card into his dueldisk, an axe materialized into the Junk Warrior's hand. But T.J. was still not done with powering his monster up.

"But wait, there's more! I'll also equip him United we stand! Now he gains eight hundred attack points for each monster I control!" More energy poured from the Germs and into the Junk Warrior, raising it's attack to 7700.

"Junk Warrior, let's make this angel fall, Attack!" The Junk Warrior pitched its arm back as it charged forward, ready to slice the monster to ribbons, when a shining transparent wall materialized in front of it.

"You shouldn't have gotten so sure of yourself, and you definitely shouldn't have put your best chip up right off that bat. I ACTIVATE MIRROR FORCE!" The Junk Warrior was charging right toward it, not stopping it's assault, if it made contact with the wall, it would destroy itself. But T.J. was not about to let that happen.

"I was prepared for something like that, and that's why I set this trap card, Dark Bribe!" The Junk Warrior stopped in it's tracks just short of the wall as the hologram of a short balding man appeared next to the teacher, pulling a card from her dueldisk and adding it to her hand.

"It let's you draw one card, but your trap is negated!" The man then pulled the trap card from the dueldisk, sliding into the graveyard before taking a bow, and fading away.

"And with my Warrior's attack no longer blocked, it's time to finish this!" The Junk Warrior raised it's arm again, this time nothing stood in it's way. As the axe made contact with the Agent of Judgment, it exploded like it was nothing but glass. The life point counter on the teacher's dueldisk swiftly clocked down to 0, leaving T.J. the winner of the duel. The teacher smiled. T.J. was every bit the duelist as her old classmate and friend had been.

"Hm. You're good kid. Your dad would be proud." She mumbled under her breath. Happy to see him do so well. He'd probably make it into yellow for this duel if he was lucky. She walked over to the table next to where they had entered, writing down T.J.'s name on the list of people who had also passed their exam.

"You won the duel, now just go back to the stands, exams will end in a few hours, you'll know if you're going to duel academy." She added as she put the clip board back on the table. T.J. was nothing but happy to oblige. He couldn't believe his first duel had gone so well. It was a shame he couldn't use the Ice Master he had been given, but he won his duel and that was enough. As he climbed the stairs on the stands he had gotten a few envious looks, not everyone did, but enough people gave him that look for him to be satisfied. It was nice to have won. With a duel like that as his first impression, he might even stand a chance of becoming the king of games one day.

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_**The Entrance Exams part 2 (Ran)**_

_**Ran doesn't do author's notes like I do, so mine is right here to tell you that, and this will be the only one you see for him, unless he changes his mind about that.**_

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Ran: The red-haired duelist cantered up the stairs that led to the exam field. His cat-green eyes glimmering with promise, he knew quite well that he'd be able to destroy whomever he was supposed to duel. Especially with the one card he found lying on the ground when he visited Domino City. He looked around for the owner, but he couldn't find the person. So Ran had just decided to keep it himself and add it to his deck. All he wore was a simple pair of slightly torn blue-jeans with leg hemlines that fell over the tongue of his dark boots, and a black blazer that hid a dark blue shirt. Simple, yet effective.

"Alright entrant 78, show me what you got." The proctor called, the guys modernized duel disk activating as the hologens activated a basic dueling field. "Get ready."

Ran simply grinned, taking his spot at the opposite side of the now-engaged field. His own dueldisk, one that came from the battle city era engaged. The number "8000" appearing on the digital screen. Both he and the proctor drew five cards, and since he was to go first.. He drew one card. Not bad.. Celtic Guardian, Negate Attack , Dian Keto the Cure Master, Solemn Wishes and the Summoned Skull.

"Alright.. I play Dian Keto The Cure Master, rising my life-points to nine thousand. I set one card face down and summon the mighty Celtic Guardian in face-up attack position!" He called out, the mighty warrior elf rising from its spot and standing proudly. The crowd around them cheered, it had been such a long time since they had seen any card from the King of Games era. "That will end my turn, not bad at all, eh?"

"No, not bad at all." He chuckled, drawing one card from the deck. "Now, let me show you how a real duelist starts off! I activate the spell card Brain Control! By paying 800 life points I can take control of one monster on your side of the field and add it to my own." He grinned, watching the almighty Celtic Guardian fade from his side and appear on his opponents. "I also play the spell card red medicine to raise my life points back to 7800. One more thing, I play the field effect card Gaia Power!" He yelled, slapping the spell into its respectful home. A massive tree sprouting behind his proctor, powering up the Celtic Guardian to 1900 attack. "Now! Attack!"

The mighty Celtic Guardian narrowed its eyes, slightly unsure about attacking its master. But after a few seconds, it raised its hefty sword and charged right towards him! It gripped the sword tightly with both hands and brought it down in a massive slash for his masters chest in a mighty horizontal sweep!

"Not so fast! I activate the trap card Negate Attack!" He yelled, a large whirlwind like thing lifting from the card to push the warrior back and away. Preserving his life points for the mean time. "Because of Negate Attacks effect, it automatically ends your battle phase!"

"Not bad, not bad at all. Your Celtic Guardian is now yours again."

Yes! Things were going good for him, now he just had to keep this up. "I play the spell card Graceful Charity!" He called, drawing three cards and adding them to his hands. Followed by discarding two he really didn't need. "Now, I'm sorry Celtic Guardian but.. I sacrifice you to summon the beautiful Dark Magician Girl!" He called out, the crowd went absolutely nuts as the powerful magician stepped forward. Turning and winking towards the boys in the crowd who miraciously had hearts sprouting from their head.

"Now! Dark Magician Girl, attack his life points directly!" She made a noise and held her staff out, generating a mighty blast to slam it directly into the proctors chest. Draining his lifepoints to 5700. At that point, the crowd was going absolutely crazy. The duel was now in his control. "I play the trap card Solemn Wishes!"

"Hmm.." The proctor mused, drawing one card before a rather evil smile grew across his lips. "I activate the spell card Fissure, allowing me to destroy the monster with the lowest attack on your side of the field!" Oh no! Not his Dark Magician Girl! he grudgingly send the card from his hand right to his graveyard, the crowd was now booing the proctor for destroying such a beautiful card.

"Now for that pesky trap card, Dust tornado!" He slapped the trap down, a mighty tornado rose from the card to destroy the trap. Sending it right to the graveyard. "I end my turn."

Alright Ran, calm down.. You can still win this, it was only one card. A powerful one, but something you can handle. "I place one monster face down on the field, and two face downs to end my turn. " Was all he said, his voice now lacking the clear ambition he had earlier.

"Come on out, Warrior of Zera!" He called, the mighty warrior rising from its card to stare daggers right into Ran. He knew that it was coming for him, but its attack points were lower than his face down.. but not like it mattered.

"I don't think so! Go, Trap Hole!" He called, the ground under Zera split open and he plummeted into the depths. Completely destroying him.

"Lucky for me, I play the spell card premature burial. By paying 800 life points I can bring one monster back from my graveyard. Come on back, Zera!" The monster grinned as it returned to the field, staring down Ran once more. "Now, attack his facedown!" The Monster lunged forward with its sword, making a large sweeping attack towards the monster.

"No! I play the trap card Magic Cylinder, redirecting all damage right back to you!" Ran shouted hopefully, watching his life-points deplete to 3300.

"That was a good move. You chained those two traps to work perfectly for a back up, didn't you?"

"Yes, I knew you'd bring back Zera as soon as I tried to get rid of him. A basic duelist knows not to let his monsters get destroyed without a backup if its possible."

"Very good." He chuckled, drawing a card before grinning again. "I summon Dark Blade in attack mode! Two monsters against your facedown, be prepared to lose some life points" He called, sending Dark Blade to attack the face down.

"I think that statement should be directed towards you, my face down was Legendary Six Samurai - Kageki! His defense is stronger than both your monsters attack! Rendering you unable to attack him!"

"Hmm.." He hummed again, watching his lifepoints fall to 3100. "I end my turn."

He drew again, a large smile growing across his youthful features. "I sacrifice my Kageki to summon SUMMONED SKULL!" He called, the crowd actually staring at the mighty beast as it rose from its card. Lightning crackling around it, staring at the two warriors with a cold, apathetic stare. "Now! Attack his Dark Blade! Electrical Dark Surge!" He called, watching electricity roll from the skull to shatter the Dark Blade. "Haha!" He cheered, watching his lifepoints fall now to 2600. Two more turns.. this duel was his!

"All I can do here is switch my Zera to defense mode and set one card face down. And that's it." He grunted, not happy about losing.

He drew one card, looking to his hand.. "I summon Darkfire Soldier #2 in attack position! Now, Summoned Skull, attack that Zera!" He called, watching Zera get shattered against the powerful might that is the Summoned Skull. "I'm not going to attack with him just yet, so I end my turn." In truth, he was really just cautious about that facedown.

"I activate the trap card, Compulsory Evacuation Device, allowing me to send one card from the field to your hand. I choose Summoned Skull." He stated bluntly, knocking the powerful creature from the field right back to Ran's hand. He then set one card face down.. but not like it mattered.

"Those test decks are certainly full of surprises, aren't they? Well, all I can do here is sacrifice my Dark Fire Soldier to bring back Summoned Skull!" He cheered, watching the mighty fiend rise again. "Attack!"

"You'd think that, but no. I activate Magic Cylinder! You take the damage!" Ran's life points fell from 8000 to 5500.

".. Ouch." Ran stammered, that was a real hit to his life points. But no matter, two more turns and it was his..

"I end my turn." He leaned back, waiting for Ran's next turn.

"All I can do here is summon the mighty Mammoth Graveyard!" He called out, watching the massive mammoth rise from its card. Shaking its head about and staring right towards the proctor. "Attack, Mammoth graveyard!" It let out a loud snort and charged, sending its massive tusks right into the Proctors chest. Taking 1200 points of damage. "Now! Skull, finish it off with Black Lightning!" He called, watching a massive black ball of lightning slam into him. Removing what was left of his lifepoints!

"Congratulations, welcome to Duel Academy." A few seconds of silence before the entire arena went up into a massive uproar of applause. They had witnessed a great duel! And the victor was coming to the academy. He waved to the audience and stepped down off the platform, he did it, he won! He was going to fulfill his dream! Wait till his mother and father heard, they'd be ecstatic! There was one female who did catch his eye, though. She had long, flowing brown hair and a type of bright, burning blue eye that seemed to stare right through to his soul. Her face was not smiling like the rest of them was, it was rather arrogant, seemingly smug. What was this woman's problem? She seemed incredibly.. what was the word.. familiar. Was she a TV star? Huh, oh well.

He walked towards the exit, all eyes were on him. He needed food now, he used up all his energy worrying that he might lose. He wondered who else he might find there..

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_**For those fans of my Zoids story who are reading this, don't worry, I'm going to get on it as soon as this is posted. I promise. Also once again yes, his character's name is Ran, same name as the one from the Zoid story. You're probably going to see that in our collaborative stories. On one more note, the waits between chapters for this story won't be nearly as long as my other stories, since this is being co-written by two people, both Ran and I have someone breathing down our neck to get eachother's halves of the chapter done. THANKS FOR READING, and let us know what you think! **_


	2. Home Sweet Roaches

_**Home Sweet roaches(T.J.)**_

_**So, anyone figure out what the DL stands for yet? If not, you're in for a wait, since it won't be revealed for awhile. Also, I fixed the problems last chapter had, so yeah. That's something. This story has a lot of planned chapters and a grand total of four story arcs, felt I'd add that since this is a short author's note. Again, leave a review if you want, and enjoy reading**_.

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T.J. was psyched, after a long helicopter ride to the island he was finally here. A place he'd hoped to be since he was eight years old. He didn't fully understand how they thought helicopter rides were the safest way to carry students to the island, but that didn't matter right now, the point was, he was there, and walking his way along the path that led to the Ra Yellow dorm. A pair of suitcases gripped tightly in his hands. He was already wearing his dorm's jacket over his shoulders, he was excited and above all else, happy. Months of buying cards had finally payed off, and at least right now, kind of slowing him down. One of those suitcases was stuffed with cards, every single one of his cards that weren't in his main deck. The other one was full of every yellow piece of clothing he could muster, mostly because he forgot that they gave him his own jacket. Still, the dorm stood before him now, it looked pretty fancy, even from the outside. Based on the windows, it probably got a good view of the ocean that it sat so close to. He did find it kind of odd that this dorm, and the Red dorm that he'd passed we so close to the sea. He had no idea where the Blue dorm was, but it must have been further inland, since the rest of the dirt paths that ran through the island seems to point in that direction. The point was, if their was a tidal wave or a hurricane, this dorm and Red dorm would not fair very well.

Still, it was a nice place, there was even a gazebo not far from the dorm, it looked worn, but like the rest of the grounds, well kept. The doors were wide open, a lot of other new students were entering, greeting the more experienced second and third year students. He was home. He stepped through the doors, seeing that the dorm was even fancier on the inside than the outside. He took in all the scenery. More people than he could count dotted the main room. Most of them talking, some of them, like him, taking in the sights that the dorm offered. There were plenty of beautiful paintings and potted plants. Some people sat at the giant tables eating together. T.J. was pretty sure he was going to like it here, despite the snooty looks of a few of the people. One particular person caught his eye, he was sitting alone at the

far end of one table, and people seemed to give him his space. His hair looked to be a faded black, almost gray in color. There was also a poster on one wall, a few people were on it, a young woman with brown hair, behind her stood an older guy with black hair, and a blue scribble in marker. It seemed to be crossing out another person, he couldn't tell what they looked like, but someone must not have liked them. Behind each of them was a monster, all of them dragons as it appeared. The text of the poster was in bold yellow, 'Dragon team, join today!'. He wasn't sure what it meant by 'Dragon team'. Did the academy have Duel Monsters teams or something?

Still, there was something about that poster that he... Liked. He wasn't entirely sure what, but still, he had more important things to do, like unpack and find his room! He'd been given a number, he assumed he just had to find it. He passed a lot of people, he could get acquainted with everyone once he was in proper attire. Numbers on the doors flew by as he jogged around the hallways, and after reaching highest floor of the dorm, he found it. The door seemed like it had practically been shined, buffed, cleaned and polished to perfection. Something told him that he was bunking with either a second year student, or another first year with a serious case of being a neat freak. He slowly opened the door, not wanting to freak out whoever the other student was. At least if they were the neat freak he expected. Stepping inside, he dropped his suitcases in a mix between awe, and bewilderment. The room was definitely home to another student, but this was not the room of a neat freak. It was lined with all sorts of... What he assumed was Samurai memorabilia. Different kinds of armors, artwork that looked hand drawn, and a long sheathed blade mounted on the wall. How had this guy gotten all of this past Duel Academy security? Was the sword real? He kind of wanted to see. He walked over and began reaching out to it when a low, snappy, serious voice made itself clear behind him.

"Touch it and it will be the last thing you ever feel." He turned around, seeing the same older student who was sitting alone at the table earlier. T.J.'s hand dropped straight to his side, he did not sound like the kind of guy who made empty threats. T.J., trying not to make a bad

first impression to his scary roommate, held his open hand out.

"Oh... Hi. My name's T.J., I'm your roommate." T.J. tried to put on his most "not-creeped-out" smile he had. He was very overbearing, his expression said that if he had heat vision, there would be two rather large holes through T.J.'s face right now. His scary gaze shifted from T.J. to the piece of paper in his other closed hand, quickly taking noticing that it was an official Duel Academy slip. T.J. took the hint and raised the paper, un-crumpling it to show him more clearly. The young man looked at his assigned room number, it was in fact the same as his. "Let me set some ground rules." He began, his voice was one that demanded attention, and it was clear enough to even T.J.'s short attention span that ignoring him would end badly.

"Leave my father's sword alone, the top bunk is for my books, and if you interrupt my studying you _will_ regret it. Understood?" T.J. nodded. He could see why people avoided him earlier. He could also see the bright side in all of this. If all those people are as scared of him as he was, then he would be seen as a pretty cool guy for being bunked with him. This was still going to be fine. One hour and a lot of unpacking later, T.J. was in his official uniform. It was a little snug, but he didn't care much, he was on his way to his first class on academy island, and he was as tired as he could be. He hadn't slept last night, he was too excited about the entrance exams, and while he fought to stay awake for the helicopter ride over, the fact that he'd made it through the last two hours on the island was nothing short of a

miracle. Still, this class was going to be easy at the very least, it was duel monster's history, what could be easier? He was a nerd when it came to all things duel monsters, he could name a card's effect just by it's cover art. Usually. A wide assortment of students were at their seats already, Blues, Reds, and Yellows alike. He found his seat, which he himself found odd. He didn't like the concept of being giving a seat number, he wished he could just sit where he wanted, but a least it was a cozy little one at the front row. An old man walked out and up to a podium, he looked like he had been teaching here for quite awhile, and it showed by his following speech.

"Hello again class, as you probably know, we've received our next wave of new students today." He began, his old voice seemed as if it had been practically worn down, the only thing that made it clear was a small growl behind it. He could have been a fast talker in his own time, spitting out words until his voice would give out, but his words now were slow, and a little forced.

"Those of you who are new, my name is Professer Nost Liaga, and I will be teaching your duel monster's history class." His words slowly began to bounce off of T.J.'s head, sleep was coming, and he couldn't do anything about it. As the class dragged on, T.J.'s eyes surrendered to Ol' Mr. Sandman. Being at the front of his class, Nost quickly took notice of his new student's lack of attention. Checking his charts, he saw that this student's name was T.J. Avian.

"Mr. Avian, would you like to tell us what the first card to have an official ID number was?" He asked in a surprisingly loud voice, which rang loudly into T.J.'s ears, snapping him out of his sleep. He paused for a second as he got himself re-oriented, realizing where he was and what he'd just be asked, his mind raced to come to the answer of the question, after a few seconds, Professor Nost felt he had made his point.

"Avian, I will not tolerate slackers in my cl-" He began to lecture, only to be interrupted as T.J. finally came to the answer. "Penguin Knight. It was set to ID number 01 in one of the first packs ever released..." He stated as coherently as he could, though he did slur a few of his words. Nost was surprised, not impressed. He was still annoyed by this student falling asleep in his class.

"Correct." He mumbled begrudgingly. He did not like these kinds of students. The ones who slack off but think that knowing their facts was going to get them 'off the hook' for it. He hoped that this student had at least learned a lesson from this, and that he wouldn't doze off again, or there _WOULD_ be consequences. "Now who here can tell me..." The sound of his voice began to drift off again, and the next time T.J. was snapped awake, the words he heard were feint. "We can't have students who fall asleep in class, it's kids like these who are driving our reputation into the ground." He blinked a few times, trying to be rid of that tired feeling that still lingered in his eyes, he couldn't quite lift his head yet, but he knew at least one thing, these words were being said on his behalf.

"True, but from what I heard, he was the first person to answer your 'slacker sleeper' question correctly." A second voice retorted, it was female, and familiar. He raised his head slightly, his vision was a little blurred, falling asleep at a uncomfortable desk will do that. "So he knew the answer to the question, that doesn't mean anything. He needs expelled before he becomes another problem student." It sounded like T.J. wasn't the first person to just fall asleep in his class.

"Nost, every student deserves a chance, if you want to punish him, expulsion is not the way to go." T.J. finally raised his head enough to see two blurry figures, one of a person with a feminine shape with what seemed like blond hair, he assumed that this person was the female voice he'd heard. He didn't need to worry about who the other might be, because he knew it was Professor Nost. "Well what do you suggest?" Nost asked. The woman turned back to him after noticing that T.J. was awake, not sure how to respond for a moment. Finally, an idea crossed her mind, and she smiled.

"Avian, meet us in the central duel room at six. Now get up before you're late for someone's class." The woman ordered. Finally, the blur that had been in T.J.'s eyes cleared, he could recognize that this woman was the teacher he had dueled in the entrance exams. T.J. felt like he was being ordered around a lot today, but this was not the time nor place to complain about it.

"Yes Ma'am." He said, quickly getting himself out of his seat and running out the door.

* * *

**(Ran)**

Ran stepped off the helicopter that brought them to Duel Academy Island. Before him lay the sprawling complex, going for miles in seemingly every direction. From the bustling crowd, he could just see the spires that indicated the Gods in which the school was based on. Excitement bubbled in the pit of his stomach as he bounded forward, following their guide across the bridge and up the long winding path that ended at a fork. Three signs were there. One pointed to the right most path that said "Slifer Red." The Middle one said "Obelisk Blue" and the farthest said "Ra Yellow." Suitcase in tow, he began to hurry down the path to his new home.

He passed several other students whom had paused on the trail for a break, the path was uneven and rather dangerous looking. But Ran was young and careless, he didn't care what the path was like that led to the cliff-side form. All he cared about was making friends with his roommate, whomever that be.

Ran was dressed in his full gear: The dark Slifer Red blazer, a gray undershirt with stone-washed, slightly holey jeans. Everyone of course looked at him as-if he were some kind of bum, like he was raised on the streets. They weren't far from the truth, all things considered. Ran had been born into a very poor family, always struggling to make ends meet and accepting food given to them by the local church. His family really never had a lot of money. Ran bought his cards by taking in soda cans and glass bottles to the recycling place. He had to do it a lot, but he always had enough to get at least one pack of cards per week. All this had built his deck, the only deck he ever felt comfortable using.

He pulled his heavy suitcase up the stairs to the second floor of what he called a "hole in the wall" type building. It was shoddy. Slightly run-down, yet it had a rather homey feel about it. Checking the slip of paper he was given, just to make sure the room number was correct: he pushed the door open and entered. The place seemed rather empty, all things considered. There was another suitcase at the end of the bunks, almost as if the suitcase was hiding. Setting his own down, he gazed about the room. It was small and slightly cramped. With two dressers, a small crappy tv in the corner and a wilting plant in the sill of the only window. All in all, it was great. But where was his roommate? He had to be here, his suitcase was! So he searched, and when he came to the closet he gripped the handle and pulled. Hard. When he did, he heard a slightly loud crash and an even louder curse.

The smaller blonde male had fallen as he jerked the sliding door open, causing him to trip and knock the shelf down on himself.

"Oh! I'm sorry, are you okay?" Ran asked, picking the shelf up off of him and setting it back on its holder. He extended a hand down to the smaller male, trying to help him up.

"E-erm... Yeah I-I'm okay." He stammered, his bright red eyes filled with tears as a comically large bump grew on his head.

"I'm Ran Tatsuya! Your roommate, it's nice to meet you." He spoke, his voice suddenly cheerful again as he moved over and kicked his suitcase under the bottom bunk. "If you don't mind me asking," He spoke guardedly, "Why are your eyes so red, and why were you hiding in a closet?"

"I'm Lucky. It's nice to meet you too..." He looked down at the mention of his eyes, "It's... a birth defect." He murmured, clearly shy about that particular subject and ignoring the second part altogether.

Ran, sensing his obvious alarm quickly apologized. "No no! It's awesome, actually. I've never met someone with such red eyes! I have the coolest guy in the school as my roommate!"

Lucky looked up, shocked. He let out a shaky little laugh, "Thank you. Can I have the top bunk?" He asked shyly.

"Of course! I don't mind. I like the bottom bunk instead, really. I never did enjoy sleeping so high off the ground." He fumbled around in his pockets before pulling out a thrice folded piece of paper. "So what's your first class?" He asked, knowing that because of the arrival schedule being slightly skewed, his second class would act as his first today. "Mine is Spell & Trap 101." Odd that they'd go over something so simple..

"That's mine, too!" Lucky cheered, and together, they walked to their class.

Together they set off. Trudging their way into the main building towards classroom number 5, Spell & Trap 101. Apparently they were the last ones in the class, 'fore when they stepped through the door every single seat was filled! Only two of them were left, one in the very back and one in the very front. The one up top was Lucky's they could see the sign with his name on it. Unfortunately, it looked like he was sitting next to two very disgruntled looking Obelisk Blue students.

"Good luck..." He murmured before sidling off to his seat.

Ran grinned and moved hurriedly down to his seat, positioning himself on the very edge of his seat. Excitement rippling through him as he stared in anticipation. Where was the teacher?!

Finally, the door down by the desk opened and in strutted a tall woman with short, bouncy blonde hair, startlingly blue eyes and with a kind face that made her seem almost dangerous. Aside from her Obelisk Blue uniform, she smiled at the rest of the class and set her briefcase down upon the desk.

"Alright students," She spoke, her voice soft yet ringing. "Welcome to Spell & Trap 101. I'm Casey Salazar, I'll be your Duel Mechanics teacher this year." She shuffled some papers about and began to make roll call.

After a few minutes, she set the paper down and walked around her desk.

"I want to talk to you all for a moment. What we teach here may be trivial, some might even call it unnecessary. But, it's important. This world has evolved to the point where your success depends on your duel monsters prowess." She spoke bright and clear, crossing her arms. "Here I will teach you how to use Spells and Traps to their highest proficiency. Now!" She barked, suddenly snapping the class out of their concentrated stupor. "What is the most useful trap card?"

Ran's hand was in the air before anyone elses, biting his lip as he almost begged to be chosen. She gazed about the room, only one person had his hand up. After checking her sheet of paper for the seating arrangement: "Yes, Ran?"

"The most useful trap card is the one that fits your deck! For instance, if you have a deck-type that relies on indirect damage: Magic Cylinders is perfect for you. Or if you're trying to destroy your opponents attacking, Mirror Force. Each situation and deck type matters when it comes to useful trap cards." He spoke confidently.

A thin smile crossed her lips as she heard his answer. "Very astute. But correct." She paused for a moment, remembering something she had heard in the staff room. They were seeking an opponent for the one boy who beat her to get IN to Duel Academy. "Ran Tatsuya, meet me in the main duel chamber tonight at six."

Ran looked puzzled. "Why, Mrs. Salazar?"

"Because, you have a duel."

With that, she turned her back to the class and assigned work for them to do. Leaving Ran to wonder who his opponent was.

* * *

It was evening for duel academy now, and a rather large crowd of students were gathered in the stands of the academy's main dueling arena. This was the place where everyone went to settle disputes, so when it was announced that a duel would be held there today, most of them dropped what they were doing to watch the showdown. Gossip ran through most of the students, a high scoring Red against a Yellow who slacked off. Almost everyone was in agreement that it would be a fun match to watch, if not just amusing.

T.J. himself was not very worried as he waited beside the raised platform of the duel arena, he'd beaten one of the school's own teachers for crying out loud! Now he was going to be dueling a Red, the lowest rank a student could have here. In his mind, it wouldn't be all that difficult. Professor Nost sat in a front row of the stands beside a few other members of the staff, ready to see this slacker put in his place. The rest of the restless students finally silenced themselves as the Red student entered the room from the main hall.

T.J. had recognized him from the entrance exams, the red haired duelist with the Dark Magician Girl. He wouldn't outwardly show it, but the idea of seeing somebody play this card was the second most exciting thing he'd ever hoped for, next to owning one of the God cards. As far as he knew, only one Dark Magician Girl Card existed, and it was still in the possession of the king of games. At this thought, a few quiet words slipped through his lips

"This might be a fun challenge after all."

Ran had been pacing nervously outside his designated entrance for at least ten minutes. Several students wished him luck, while others jeered and made fun of him for having to duel a Ra yellow. He wasn't sure how to react, but Lucky seemed to try and give him encouragement. But whenever one of the school "bullies" popped up, he ducked behind Ran and hid from view. It was finally six o clock, time had come for the duel the whole school was waiting for. He pushed open the door and stepped through. The entire school had showed up! Professor Casey was sitting in the front row, a satisfied look on her face as she jolted information down upon a clipboard. His green eyes wandered the length of the arena, catching the face of his opponent. He faintly remembered this person, he supposedly used a new type of card.

The young duelist smiled shakily as he walked up the steps to the duelist platform, his older-styled duel-disk sitting on his left wrist. His oh-so precious deck prepared and ready for battle, he was going to enter his first duel as a student at duel academy! How perfect! As he stood there, taking in the hundreds of faces that stared down at him, a voice suddenly came over the intercom:

"Welcome students to our first duel of the year!" Nost began over a microphone perched directly in front of his seat.

"Today's duel has some very special stakes, if our little Slifer here can win this duel, he and the Ra student will be swapping dorms!" A series of 'Ooh's and laughs rang through the students, this couldn't be for real. A pair of first day students and already this is happening. If it were anyone other than the constantly serious Prof. Nost announcing this duel, they would think it to be a joke.

"Our participants for this duel are both first year students, Ran Tatsuya, a Slifer who is certainly not a slacker, and T.J. Avian, who... Is." Nost commented, giving the students a chance to cheer or laugh. It was always good to see students paying attention to something for more than five seconds.

Casey shifted her gaze towards her colleague and gave a soft sigh, leaning forward to speak into her mic. "Indeed! Such high stakes at the start of the year. This could only mean we're going to have an explosive, memorable year here at Duel Academy." She smiled, noting that the boys in the crowd seemed to dote on her every word. "For a little background information: T.J. Avian was caught napping in class, "slacking off" as Professor Nost would say. Ran Tatsuya, however, displayed excellent use of cool intellect and brilliant logic. So I appointed him to the duel!"

The whole arena hushed as everyone listened to her every word. She must've noticed this, for she blinked and smiled again. "May the best duelist win! Now, T.J. and Ran, step forward and cut one anothers deck."

T.J. stepped up the small stairs of the arena himself, cutting this guy's deck was something that gave him goosebumps. He was going to hold a deck that contained The Dark Magician Girl. As the two duelists approached each-other, T.J. tried to keep his head a bit more level, keep his mind off of the fact that such a rare card was about to be in his hands for several seconds. Soon, they both came to the center of the arena. There was a short pause between them before T.J. offered his deck to Ran.

"Let's give these people a good show." He greeted in the closest thing to 'Good luck' he could manage at the moment. He was caught between confidence and excitement for this duel, and a simple 'Good Luck' would not do for this situation.

Ran slightly tilted his head, a bright smile flicked across his features as burning determination roared to life in his eyes. "Right! I hope you're as good as you were in your duel against Mrs Casey!" He spoke, extending his own deck towards T.J's. He took his, shuffled it and cut it and handed it back. Handling the cards with the respect they deserved.

T.J. did likewise, he felt a little tense, he currently had a card that he previously presumed one-of-a-kind in his hands, a card used by the king of games himself. The thought 'Don't drop the cards' passed through his mind. 'Don't run away with the card, you'll never make it' was another one. He felt he was beginning to take too long at this point, and stopped repeatedly shuffling the deck. As the deck left his hand and returned to it's owner, he could practically feel a small piece of his heart fall off. With a respectful nod, he started back to his spot in the arena.

Ran smiled at him and spun on the ball of his foot and half-hurried back to his spot on the duel platform. The duel was set to begin! The antique duel disk on his arm activated, growling to life and extended outwards. His deck spat out five cards into his awaiting hand, he looked down at them. Dark fire soldier #1, Pot of Greed, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, Trap Jammer.

"My turn!" He bellowed as he drew, adding magical hats to his hand. "Alright, first I set two cards face down and place a monster in facedown defense position!" He called, watching the cards flicker to life in front of him on the grid. Better to start off slow, wait for him to make the first move. "I end my turn, good luck T.J."

T.J. drew his cards, adding them to his hand whilst Ran took his turn. Like his entrance exam, not the most flashy hand, but a pair of familiar cards graced it all the same, Giant Germ and Junk Synchron, along with Neo The Magic Swordsman, Coffin seller, a Double Summon, and a Monster Reincarnation topping off his hand as he started his turn.

"Alright, let's get this thing rolling! I'll start by activating Double Summon!" The hologram of the card faded onto the field, coupled with a pair of circular lights in the monster zone.

"Next, I'll summon Neo The Magic Swordsman!" The a noble looking soldier materialized unto the field, swinging it's sword down with both hands, striking a battle pose. It was closely followed by two face down holograms, one in the monster zone, the other behind it.

"Then I'll set a monster, and a little surprise back here. Now let's see what your deck is made of. Neo! Attack his monster!"

Ran smiled as his opponent destroyed his set monster which was revealed to be the Celtic Guardian. "Not bad." The smile grew as T.J. ended his turn. Ran drew, flicking his gaze down to his cards. "Now, my friend. Let's see what _your_ deck is made out of, shall we?" He roared as he slammed Milla the Temporal Magician into the monster zone. The magician rose from the ground, holding her staff in her right hand whilst looking bored and dispassionate. Her cold eyes staring at the enemy swordsman, twirling her staff in her hand and waiting.

"Now, Milla. Attack his Neo the Magic Swordsman!" Ran demanded, watching her leap forward and slam the end of her staff directly into the chest of Neo. Causing the monster to erupt into various shards of hologram, spraying his opponent with them. "My deck draws from the power of magic, T.J. You'll be hard pressed to defeat them with simple warriors."

T.J. drew a card, a small chuckle hidden in his breath. Those 100 life points would not be missed any time soon. "Funny that Neo's a Spellcaster." He commented, adding the new card to his hand. Dark Bribe, an old favorite of his. "I'll set one card face-down, and end my turn." Why waste an important monster when he was about to get two free ones?

Ran grinned sheepishly as the man caught his little play on words, but no matter. He drew his card and stared at it, a slow tick developing in the corner of his lip as he added it to his hand. "Alright, Milla! Attack the facedown card!" He roared, watching the magician stab the face down card with the end of her staff.

"Thanks for that." T.J. began to his own amusement. The pierced card shattered, turning into a large purple blob that was being pressed to the ground. "You've just attacked my Giant Germ!" The ever shifting shape of the Germ began to bloat around the bottom of the magician's staff, before bursting in a spray of debris.

"When Germ is destroyed by battle, you take five hundred points of damage!" T.J. boasted as the pieces of the monster pelted his opponent before fading away. His duel disk then dispensed two cards, another pair of Giant Germs. As he slid them into the monster card zones, two new holograms of the huge bacterial creatures appeared in the previous one's place.

"Argh!" Ran groaned as his life points fell, hissing in irritation as he grudgingly ended his turn. T.J. smirked, a few more moves and he might be able to get another one attack win. As he drew his card, he smiled, it was one of the few cards in his deck that could go toe to toe with Milla without a tribute, Herald of Creation.

"I'll start by summoning Herald of Creation in attack mode! Now let's see who's magician is stronger. Herald of creation, destroy his magician!" The golden garbed spellcaster spun her staff in the air once before directing it toward Milla, who was already pointing her's own staff right back at it. Large beams of energy erupted from their staffs, growing brighter and brighter as they collided. In a massive explosion, the two monsters fell to the ground shattering.

"But that's not all! I just activated Coffin Seller! Now with your Milla going to the graveyard, you take 300 damage!" One of T.J.'s two face-down cards rose up from the ground before suddenly shattering! Much to it's owner's surprise.

Rans grin spread across his face as his trap rose, indicating his opponents complete despair. "Did you really think I'd let that happen?" He asked, revealing his Trap Jammer for all to see. "I activate Trap Jammer! Destroying your precious coffin seller!" He uttered a quiet laugh, "Now if my math is correct, both of our monsters are destroyed!" T.J. furrowed his brows. It wasn't a major setback by any stretch of the word, but man did he hate being shut out like that. With a quiet sigh he sent his monster to the graveyard. "I end my turn."

Ran chuckled a bit as he started his turn and drew a card. 'Lightning Vortex,' Ran mused in his thoughts, shifting gaze over to his hand. "I summon an assassin from the depths of fire. Come, Lady Assailant of the Flames!" He bellowed, slapping the card into the monster zone. The gray haired beauty rose from the ground, crossing a kunai across her chest. "Now I activate the spell card Lightning Vortex." He called, clouds billowing above them as a roar of thunder erupted around the arena; followed by two harsh lightning strikes that destroyed those pretentious germs. With a final crack of thunder, it resided; leaving him wide open! "Now, my assassin! Attack his life points directly!" He called, watching her slide forward with incredible speed and stab the blade into T.J.'s chest. Dropping his opponents life points to 6400! "I end my turn!"

T.J.'s face scrunched up in pain. These holograms hurt a lot more than the pros make it look like. He drew another card from his deck, smiling as he realized that is was monster reborn. Now that was a good card. "I activate monster reborn! I think you know what that means!" He boasted, as his monster of choice ejected from the graveyard. "I'm bringing back my Herald, and I'm going to use it! Herald of creation, attack his Assailant!" The monster spun it's staff the same way it had done with the Temporal Magician, this time pointing it at the blade wielding assassin. In a bright flash of light, the monster was shattered, bringing Ran's life points down to 7200. "Let's see you get past her this time. Your move."

Ran grunted as his beloved monster was reduced to mere fragments. "Alright, I'll get past her then." He muttered, drawing his favorite card. The Dark Magician Girl! Perfect. This duel was his. "I activate pot of greed!" He boomed, drawing the two desired cards. Summoned Skull and Magic Formula... Perfect. "Unfortunately, I end my turn."

T.J.'s confidence got a boost by this. He had him in a corner now, he was sure of it. He didn't really care about the card he drew "Well if you're going to leave me such a nice clear path, I'll use it. Herald, you know what to do!" The golden mage unleashed another mighty wave of white light, searing Ran's life points away, bringing them to a much nicer and lower 5400. "Tough words don't win duels, let's see if you can back them up."

The young duelist grunted as the magic slammed into his frame, causing him a large amount of discomfort. "... Blast." He grumbled to himself, drawing a card from his deck. A ghost of a smile working across his pale visage. "Alright... time for a taste of your own medicine!" He roared, slamming his previously drawn card onto the field. "Go, Change of Heart!" He boomed, sending out the light and dark angel, who held a small heart between her hands. The monster, Herald of Creation walked towards her opponent- as if to attack and turned her back on him. "Time for you see what your own magic tastes like." He murmured with another grin as she raised her staff up high- light beginning to form from its crystallized end. "Go, Herald!" Ran called as the light turned into a spear and drove straight for T.J.'s chest. Costing him another 1800 life points, dropping them down to 4600. "The duel is back in my favor, the ball is in your court. I end my turn." With that, the Herald shifted her position and moved back towards T.J. A nasty scowl upon her tanned face.

T.J. glared at his own monster. Being on the receiving end of that attack hurt, and he was not very happy about it. He drew his card, Negate attack. "I set a card face-down!" He did not like having his own monster used against him. "I'll summon my Junk Synchron is attack mode! Now let's meet his old friend Giant Germ!" The small orange armored humanoid seemed to reach into the ground to pull up the gigantic bacterial ball. "You were at the entrance exams, I'm sure you know what happens next!" The Synchron and the Germ began to rise into the air, the germ shadowing it as green orbs materialized from the monsters. As the orbs floated forward, a gigantic cylinder of light enveloped them. The orbs sunk into the wall, which soon after exploded, revealing a tall blue armored humanoid. "My Junk Warrior!" The monster hovered with it's arms crossed, before unfolding them outwards in a wave of power. "Let's see how you like his attack! Scrap fist!" The warrior began to fly toward Ran at a high speed, it's fist pulled back before finally punching him. Ran's life points clicked down to 3100. "You're move." T.J. almost regretted saying that. He had forgotten to attack with his Herald... Maybe no one would notice...

Ran stumbled back for a moment as the powerful synchro monster punched him directly in the chest. It stung a bit, causing a bead of sweat to trickle 'cross is brow. "No matter. You forgot to attack with your Herald, leaving me a whole host of options." Ran spoke, drawing all the while. He turned his eyes over to the card in his hand and grinned- just so. "I activate the spell card, Monster Reborn, summoning my Dark Fire Soldier #1 back to the field." The proud warrior rose in his flames, staring at the female and machine with a hungry flare in his eyes. "Alone, my flamed swordsman won't do much. He is merely acting as a ploy, you see. I tribute him to summon...!" He trailed off for a moment, letting the suspense build up. "The DARK MAGICIAN GIRL!" He bellowed as the beautiful Magician popped into life, winking playfully at the two opponents before her. The crowd, which had been watching in a tense silence, suddenly erupted in a deafening shout. The Magician was still a fan favorite in her old age, despite all that he slapped down another card. "I activate Magic Formula! Bringing my Dark Magician Girl up to 2700!"

"Amazing..." Casey muttered to herself, watching the duel with an avid interest. "Now, my Magician, Dark Magic Attack!" Ran called, pointing vehemently at his foe as she raised her staff, holding it above her head and throwing a large black ball right towards the fabled Junk Warrior!

"Not so fast!" T.J. called out, as he broke out of his own little trance that seeing the rare and lovely Magician Girl had put him in. He'd remembered that he had set a trap last turn. "I activate Negate Attack!" He announced, his face-down card raising, and turning in a a great spiraling vortex that seemed to repel the Magician's magic. "Bringing an end to your battle phase." T.J. had been waiting for this. A chance to battle the Dark Magician's great apprentice. Ran released a small sigh, "I end my turn."

T.J. drew another card. Swords of Revealing Light. This was exactly what he needed to win this duel in style. "I activate Swords of Reveling Light!" In the air above Ran's field, bright shining lights began to form into the shape of several swords. They flew down, crashing into the field and narrowly missing the Dark Magician Girl, who jumped out of the way with a terrified expression on her face. Prompting a round of Boos and angry chanting from the audience of other students. T.J. sighed as he moved on to his next move. "Herald of Creation! Attack his Dark Magician Girl!

"Is this guy braindead?" Nost asked himself from his seat. "It's basic math! His monster is weaker!" Regardless of the questions and puzzlement of crowd, the Herald began to walk toward the Dark Magician Girl, staff raised in the air, gathering energy. It brought it's staff down, only to have it blocked by the Magician's own staff. The monster was repelled and knocked to the ground before shattering like a pane of glass. T.J.'s life points were at 3700. With a smile, he ended his turn.

Dark Magician Girl pouted as she tugged rather helplessly at one of the light swords, wanting to attack in her powered state. Much to her dismay, she couldn't do a thing about it. He drew a card, peering down at it with a sense of distaste. "I activate Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three cards at the cost of discarding two." Her sneered as he did the action, not finding anything of worth. Tossing two random cards. "Fine, I end my turn." The red haired duelist was still questioning his tactics, was he dumb... or was it a clever ruse?

T.J. smiled at everyone's confused looks, when this happened, it would happen in a big way. No one knew the card he had drawn earlier. He drew a card. A Magic Jammer. "I'll set a card face-down and end my turn." Ran drew a card, staring at it before summoning. "I summon Dark Fire Soldier #1." He spoke dully, the fire warrior rising and releasing a hiss as the harsh flames licked the air. "I end my turn." T.J. drew once again, Synchro Soldier. Perfect. "I'll end my turn once more." This next turn would be his last turn of safety, the last he would need. Ran drew a card and activated it rather quickly. "I activate Book of Secret Arts, bringing my monsters attack points to 3000!" He exclaimed, watching a magical aura trace her frame... "I end my turn."

The swords around Ran's monsters faded. T.J. could have activated Magic Jammer, but that would reduce the impact of his win. He wanted his best monster at it's strongest. He drew another card, but it was unimportant. "I summon Synchro Soldier!" A man in some big and rather heavy looking armor appeared on his side of the field, wielding a rather odd looking gun. "Next I'll activate Megamorph, and I'll be equipping it to my Junk Warrior!" The mechanical warrior seemed to slump slightly, as it's attack fell to 1150. "Now Synchro Soldier! Attack his Dark Magician Girl!" The soldier pointed it's weapon at the Mage. It banged on the gun a few times as if it were jammed before it exploded, the Magician Girl smiled as the gun malfunctioned, her wand glowing slightly. T.J.'s life points took a rather large blow, bringing them to the low amount of 700.

As the soldier exploded though, the Junk Warrior rose up, energy seeming to leak through it's armor. It's attack points raised to an all time high, 4600! "Now let me give you a little taste of my Warrior's power! Scrap Fist on his Darkfire Soldier!" The warrior didn't even charge, it punched the air, and waves of energy rocked through the soldier before it shattered. T.J. laughed to himself, not even noticing his warrior slump back down as Ran's life points hit 200.

The red-haired duelist didn't seem to mind as his fiery soldier exploded into a thousand shards of hard light. Ran grinned, watching him laugh in glee as he ended his turn. "You fool." He spoke softly, stepping forward and pointing. "Dark Magician Girl," he called as he entered his battle phase. "Attack him with Dark Magic Attack!" He roared, watching his magician throw forward the large black ball which caused the machine to explode in a fury of a mixture of mechanical electrical sparks and black magical fire. Ran yelled in happiness, shouting wordlessly of his victory as the holograms faded.

The crowd, however, applauded and roared with delight over the terrific duel they witnessed between two specular duelists who happened be first years. T.J. on the other hand stood with his mouth agape, still frozen in the expression of that victorious laugh that he was having a bit earlier. It dawned on him finally that he had lost the duel, or to be more specific, it dawned on his face. His smile sunk a bit, but he wasn't angry. He wasn't sad. No, he was happy. That was a fun duel, and he got to see the Dark Magician Girl up close, heck, she was the one who ended the duel. It was exactly the kind of duel he loved to see. A back and forth with no solid footholds for either duelist. Still, he wanted his first duel in the academy to be a win.

"Haha!" Nost cheered, happy to knock that slacker down a peg. He grabbed the microphone happily. "The winner is Ran Tatsuya!" He announced. Casey wasn't sure that Nost was happy for the right reasons, but she was happy that the students seemed to have had fun in the duel. Ran's grin stretched from ear to ear as he strode over towards his most worthy adversary. Extending his hand in a gesture- one of respect. His green eyes almost glowing as euphoria washed over him. "Look, man. That was a heck of a duel, you're seriously skilled. We'll have to have a rematch!"

T.J.'s frown faded. "Thanks man." He extended his hand too, locking their palms together in a handshake. "It really was a great duel. Oh, and a word of advice..." T.J. added as their hands separated. "When you get to the yellow dorm, don't touch any swords." He finally trailed off in a whisper toward the end. Ran tilted his head a bit at his words, eyes slightly narrowing. "Ra Yellow? I'm not going there- I prefer it in Slifer Red. Much more like home- just with more cockroaches." He sighed theatrically, but smiled all the same. "I'm going to work my way up the ladder, not win a duel on my first day here and end up in a higher dorm." He spoke with obvious happiness ringing with every word. "I guess you'll be moving to red, then?"

T.J. was about to speak, but paused at the mention of roaches. He had heard that the red dorm kind of sucked, but roaches? This was going to be a long year. Trying to shake it off, he smiled awkwardly. "Yeah I guess I am." He began. "Never liked the color yellow anyway." He tried to play it off coolly. At least he would be away from his scary roommate.

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_**Thank you for your patience if you had enough to actually wait for this chapter. Next chapter should come faster since only one of us will be writing this one, so we don't have to wait for the other to finish their part. In later news Ran says hi. See you next chapter, coming When it's done.**_


	3. Do No Harm

_**Do No Harm (T.J.)**_

_**Hello again my reader friends. Time for a couple of filler chapters before more plot happens. Also we're meeting some of our supporting characters this chapter, so there's that. This chapter was pretty much completely written by me, but we'll be back to writing together next week. But you're not here to read my ramblings, you're here for card games and self inserts right? Because that's what this is about! Enjoy or don't enjoy the chapter at your leisure. Feel free to pop a review on up there if you'd like. Or don't if you don't want to, no pressure.**_

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T.J. walked along a long path on academy island. The one that lead to the Slifer Red dorm. He carried his single suitcase containing his remaining wardrobe. His one remaining case was lighter than either of his prior two had been the day before. Not being a Ra meant he couldn't really wear his Yellow clothes. He was left with a few of his black, gray and brown shirts, and a few sets of jeans on top of that. As he finally got a good look at the Red dorm peeking around some trees, he found that it was a bit less... He didn't actually know what he was expecting with the dorm, but it wasn't this. Everything was completely different from the Yellow dorm. Shoddy, dusty and dirty. The place looked like a wing of some kind of unfinished motel. It even had outdoor catwalks just to reach the upstairs rooms. He continued his approach with a sigh. 'So much for the life of luxury.' The closer he got to the dorm, the more the quality of the place seemed to chip away. He half expected it to fall apart when he made it to the base of the building. Though, maybe he was being a bit harsh on the place. Among other things, he would at least not have a scary sword owning roommate this time. At least he hoped that would be the case. He looked around the rooms, finding that his must not have been on the ground floor. As he ascended the staircase to the catwalk he passed another student with strikingly red eyes. Almost as Red as those of a certain dragon monster.

Neither of them spoke up or even greeted one another. T.J. noticed the shorter red eyed student actually seemed to shy away from him. T.J. didn't want to trouble him, so he walked onward up the stairs. Finally, after passing one other door, he found the room with the right number. At this point, perhaps at the worst possible moment, T.J. remembered what Ran had said, about the roaches and the spiders and the... Had he mentioned spiders? Because T.J. was sure thinking it pretty loudly right now. With an anxious and dry swallow, he opened the door to his next new room. Surprisingly, the room was very tidy. Not as clean as the Ra student's room, but cleaner than the rest of the building looked. He'd lucked out! Maybe he'd just get a neat freak after all. As he looked around his new accommodations, he noticed, -surprisingly late one might add- that his new roommate was nowhere to be found. If he'd learned the scheduling right, there were no classes at the moment. He did notice that the bottom bunk was still warm, so someone had been there recently. Maybe he was bunked with that red eyed kid who he passed on the way there. This theory was quickly disproved, he found that all of the clothes in the closet were those of a female student. This bothered him a little. He wasn't exactly the best around girls he didn't know. He hated to repeat himself, but this was still going to be a long year. As he explored his new tiny living space, he found something that was a little unsettling to him.

A lot of medical books. 'Yep' He thought. 'The new roommate is just as crazy as the last one.' Regardless, It would still be a little while before his next class, and he thought the best use of his time would be to meet his new neighbors. Or dormmates, he didn't know what to call the other Slifers. He'd probably even find his new roommate hanging around. He changed into his new set of Red clothes and set his Duel Disk on the desk, assuming he probably wouldn't be needing it just to look around. He noticed a few things the instant he'd left his room. Firstly, that red eyed kid from before was down on ground level, looking rather terrified and backing toward the dorm. Secondly, there was an Obelisk student standing not too far in front of him, with a cocky smirk running across his left cheek. His hair was a little long, black and seemed to jut out toward the end of a few locks. "Alright slacker, I saw that card you pulled earlier today, and I'm here for it." The Blue demanded, taking a step toward the much shorter student. In response, the red eyed kid -T.J. really needed to find something else to call him soon- took a few more hurried steps back. If he'd remembered correctly, the card shop had gotten some cards in that day, mostly some older ones. He pondered for a moment what such a top notch duelist would even want with most old cards, a lot of them weren't that good these days.

"But I need that card for my deck!" The red eyed student pleaded. "I had to buy so many packs to get it!" This seemed to provoke the Obelisk to begin stepping closer again. This was enough to spark a reaction out of T.J. "Hey!" Is what he would have said, had someone else not shouted it first. The Blue student stopped, as a brown haired girl in a Slifer uniform stepped forward from one of the lower doors of the dorm. "Please leave him be. He earned his card fair and square, you can't take it." She stated, she had a tinge of hesitance in her voice. "And what are you going to do if I don't?" He asked, approaching the scared student and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. The girl stepped forward, raising her arm. "Then I'll have to d-duel some sense into you." She stuttered, her Duel Disk extending and lighting up, line by line. The Blue laughed. "Oh is that a challenge?" He asked, releasing the Slifer, leaving him to fall to the hard dirt. "I accept. I hope you know that when you lose, I'm taking your deck, and throwing it off the cliff." He threatened as his own Duel Disk flickered to life. The girl frowned at the idea of her hard earned cards being tossed to the wind, but she wasn't about to let someone else get bullied out of their own cards. "Fine." She mumbled. Two holographic projectors flew from the students' Duel Disks. "Ladies first." The Blue teased, drawing his five cards from his Duel Disk, leaving the girl to draw six. A frown that seemed to lack any confidence crossed her face. "I'll set two cards face down, and then I'll set a monster."

The cards materialized on her side of the field. "And I'll end my turn." She stated blandly, bringing a smile to the Obelisk's face. "Let me show you how a real duelist starts a duel!" The Blue began, plucking one card from his hand. "I'll start by summoning Fabled Raven!" On his side of the field, a monster rose from the ground. a man garbed in black with lavender colored skin, blades adorning it's arms. "And then I'll activate card destruction! Now we both discard our entire hands, and draw the same number of cards!" He sent all the cards from his hand to his graveyard, forcing the girl to do the same. "And one of those cards I discarded happened to be the Fabled Cerburrel!" He announced, the hologram of a small three-headed dog being lead by a small demon-like creature. "Next I'll activate Raven's effect, I can discard any number of cards from my hand, and he gains a level and four hundred attack points for each one!" As he sent one more card from his hand to the graveyard, the blades on the monster's arms seemed to jut outward. "And I discarded my Fabled Krus, allowing me to summon one level four or lower Fabled monster from my graveyard, and I'm choosing my Fabled Grimro." Yet another monster appeared on his side of the field, this time an angel, garbed in black feathers that matched her wings. "And then I'll activate Fires of Doomsday!" The girl watched on, the Blue's turn didn't seem like it was ever going to end. Two small black and blue creatures made of fire filled the rest of his field. "And lastly, it's time for a little bit of synchro magic! I'll be giving up my Cerburrel, Grimro and tokens to summon-"

He began, his monsters rose into the air only to be enveloped by a wall of light. "Fabled Valkyrus!" A man covered in red, black and gold armor rose exploded from the wall of light, stretching it's wings as it slowly drifted down to the ground. "Now, I think we've waited long enough! Let's see what we've got! Raven, Destroy her monster!" The monster raised it's arms, the blades that jutted from them glinting in the sunlight, before charging into the card, rending a rip through it. An image of a black cat flashed to life, it's eyes glowed Red before a transparent card glowed behind it. A trap card. "That was my Cat of Ill Omen, when this card is flipped, I can add one trap card to the top of my deck!" The girl announced, a card from her deck sinking into the Duel Disk before coming back out at the top of her deck. The Blue shook his head. "No amount of traps are going to help you!" He growled, agitated. "Valkyrus! Attack her directly!" He ordered. The fallen angel lifted it's hands above it's head, gathering a ball of light before throwing it at the girl, dealing a devastating blow to her life points. They clicked down to five thousand and one hundred. As the turns passed, T.J. had walked down the stairs to the side of the red eyed student, who still sat on the ground. "Are you alright dude?" He asked, extending his hand to help him up. He blinked for a moment before offering his own hand. T.J. helped him to his feet before turning his attention back to the duel. "She might be in trouble there." He commented. His shorter dormmate nodded. "Jack's a strong duelist. He's been picking on everyone who isn't a Blue or a Yellow all day. I don't know about Saiya though, she hasn't left her room since her last class." He added, brushing himself off. As the dust finally cleared from the attack, Saiya stood shielding her eyes. The holograms might be fake, but the dirt they kicked up was not.

Jack laughed. "Your turn slacker." Saiya drew her new trap card from her deck. "I'll set one card face down, and then I'll activate Bad Reaction to Simochi." She announced, the hologram of her face-down card raising. From the artwork of the card, several ethereal arms crept. They floated idly yet restlessly, ready to do their jobs. "As long as this card is on the field, any life points that you would gain are taken away from you instead!" She began, raising her voice to a slightly more confident tone. "Then I'll set a monster!" She continued. "I end my turn." Jack smirked as he drew his next card. Another slacker who's deck couldn't match their words. "Let's keep this shame train rolling then!" He seemed to be enjoying this a bit too much. "I'll activate the effect of the Fabled Nozoochee in my hand, to discard one fabled monster to special summon him!" He began. "And the card I discarded was The Fabled Ganashia, and when he's discarded, I can special summon him!" He continued, the holograms of a bipedal elephant, and a rather flat snake wearing a helmet appeared on the field, both accompanied by two small demons. "If you liked my first synchro, then you'll love my next one!" He exclaimed, his monsters raising, much like the others before.

"With my Fabled Raven, Nozoochee and Ganashia, I will bring forth the mighty, the ancient, ANCIENT SACRED WYVERN!" He cheered to himself. The wall of light shattered as soon as it appeared to reveal a massive white dragon, long streams of Yellow hair flowing off of it's head. "And when your life points are lower than mine, my Wyvern gains the difference!" The monster became cloaked in a transparent veil of light, raising it's already impressive twenty one hundred attack points to an unimaginable five thousand! "Now get ready to say goodbye to your deck!" He laughed, pointing at her face-down monster. "Valkyrus, do your thing!" He commanded again, and the monster obeyed, once again gathering a mighty light ball in it's hands. As it threw it, Saiya smiled for the first time in the duel. The hologram of the card exploded in a marvelous blast, and was replaced by a pinkish blob. "What the?" Jack questioned. There was no way any monster she could have just set could survive that attack. "You just attacked my Marshmallon!" She announced. The light seemed to swirl inside of the smiling pink creature. It expanded before finally throwing the ball back at it's attacker's controller. Jack recoiled as the hard light swept over his body, searing his life points down to seven thousand. The veil around the Wyvern seemed to decrease in intensity as it's attack fell to four thousand, leaving Jack with a scowl on his face. "When you attack Marshmallon, you take one thousand damage, and Marshmallon can't be destroyed by battle. So I'm safe."

Jack shook his head. "Not for long." He chuckled. "I'll activate Raigeki!" He triumphantly shouted. "Now every monster on your side of the field is destroyed!" A circle of dark clouds seemed to hover above Saiya's side of the field, before a hail of lightning came down, destroying her monster. "Next turn, you're toast slacker." His confident smirk returned to his face. "Your move." Saiya drew what could have been her last card, but fortunately for her, she drew the last card she needed. "I set one card face-down..." She began, her voice trailing off toward the end. "I end my turn." She mumbled, she was not one to like hurting someone's feelings, but she would be happy that this Obelisk was about to get what was coming to him. "Shame you couldn't do more, this was hardly even a fight." He joked, drawing what he assumed to be a needless card. "Time to end this, Sacred Wyvern, attack her directly! He spoke up, only to see a trio of cards raising on her side of the field. "I activate my three Gift Card trap cards!" She announced, a group of Kuribohs, holding small cards that were covered in bows and seemed to glint appeared from the cards. "Each of them makes you gain three thousand life points!" She continued, pointing to the cards before her. Jack nearly burst in to tears underneath his maniacal laughter. "You- Heh! -You slackers are really something else!" He began, trying to speak coherently between his bouts of laughter.

He didn't seem to notice the arms that were reaching out of the Simochi card beginning grabbing on to the little fiendish hairballs. "You should really pay closer attention to the field Jack." She commented, smiling happily as the arms arched back. In a rain of fluff, the arms threw the small balls of fur at the still laughing Obelisk. They each hit him hard, knocking him to the ground even. Nine thousand points of direct damage. He lost. The holograms disappeared and his laughter did the same. Jack's face turned into an angry scowl. "You... You got lucky slacker." He began, storming off before Saiya could respond. Saiya smiled, looking back to the red eyed Slifer. "He shouldn't bug you again for awhile." She optimistically stated, Her Duel Disk deactivated as she returned her cards to her deck. "And thanks for dealing with that guy." T.J. spoke up, breaking the girl's gaze from the shorter student. "Hm?" She mused, unsure what he meant exactly. As far as she could tell, _he_ wasn't being bullied. In fact, she recognized him as the Ra student from last night's duel. "I would have, but now I don't need to get my Duel Disk dirty!" He joked. A comically large bead of sweat ran down the side of her forehead. "You're uh... Welcome." She sighed. She couldn't help but feel like she didn't get enough respect, but she wasn't the kind of person to speak up about it. "Also, I wanted to know, who's that room belong to?" T.J. asked, pointing back at his room.

Saiya frowned for a moment, before hesitantly answering... "It's uh... Mine. Why?" She drew out the end of the sentence, hoping she wasn't in trouble or something. T.J. paused, looking to the room and then back to her. Then he smiled. "Well then... I've definitely got the best roommate I could ever have! That duel was so cool! You didn't even have to attack once to win!" If there was one thing that impressed T.J., it was a good duel, and that, while a little slow, was a cool duel. The apparent reclusive personality on top of that, and he wasn't going to have any problems with his new roommate. Saiya on the other hand was having a miniature panic attack inside her head. She did not like being around other people at all, she didn't even really want to be here at the academy, but she'd need to become a strong duelist if she wanted to get some money on the professional circuit. Medical school was not cheap to get in to. He was looking at her funny now... Was she showing too much stress at the idea? She definitely didn't want to hurt his feelings, especially after he got kicked out of the Yellow dorm. She tried to put on a convincing smile. "I've never had a roommate before... Nice to um... Meet you." The confidence that her duel had built up for her began to shrink; her voice not much above a whisper now. T.J. shook off his odd look, she didn't seem too thrilled about this... But at least he wouldn't be alone while he was in the Red dorm. With a smile and a laugh, he ran back up the stairs to their room, being positive might calm her down a bit.

Saiya reluctantly and slowly followed after, drawing out each step as much as she could. If she was going to become a doctor like she hoped, she would have to get used to being around people. Maybe it wouldn't be all bad. Once she was finally out of sight, the door atop the staircase closing behind her, the short red eyed student heaved a sigh of disappointment. "My name's Lucky... By the way..." He finally remembered to mention, a little too late now.

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_**This chapter got out a little late when I realized that Jack somehow had 2 extra cards in his hand after I finished it, but with some slight fixing, the problem was solved. As another note, when Ran and I were planning this story, we had yet to see 5D's, so we did not know that there was an important early antagonist named Jack in it. So keep in mind that our Jack's name was completely unrelated to the Jack from 5D's. I've also just realized that we're almost halfway through the year, I better get back to work on that Zoids story of mine before it's been another year without an update. Next chapter we'll be meeting two not-so-minor characters, so it's not entirely a filler chapter. Thanks for reading and such, see you next chapter if you choose to keep reading but if you don't that's okay too I guess. Also Ran says "Hi"**_


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